Do You Have Password Overwhelm?

Updated March 2026 to reflect current password security recommendations.

Everyone’s always talking about creating secure passwords. But to be effective, passwords can feel impossible to remember! Wouldn’t you agree?

To make it easier to remember, do you use something like “123456” or “password”? Every year, security researchers publish lists of the most commonly used passwords – and they’re often the same simple word and number combinations.

How difficult do you suppose it would be for hackers to try those? Especially when automated software can run test thousands of common passwords in seconds? Why make it easy for them?

It’s frustrating! I get it. Comedian Don Friesen totally gets it! Watch this video:

The Best Password is a Long, Strong One

Short, simple passwords are easy to guess. What’s much harder to crack?

Long passwords
Random passwords
Unique passwords (a different one for every account)

Security experts now recommend using long passphrases or automatically generated passwords. A passphrase like:

BlueCoffeeTrain!Window92

is far more secure than something short and complicated like:

P@55w0rd

Length matters more than clever substitutions.

Don’t Create Passwords Manually – Generate Them

Coming up with a different password for every account is exhausting. The good news? You don’t have to.

Modern password managers include built-in password generators that automatically create long, complex passwords for you — and save them securely at the same time.

No more trying to think of something clever.
No more writing passwords down.
No more reusing the same one everywhere.

Use a Password Manager to Store All Your Passwords

Password managers keep track of your passwords for you. All you need to do is remember one strong master password – the one that lets you into the password manager.

Because this master password protects everything, it should be:

Long
Unique
Never reused anywhere else

Most password managers also support two-factor authentication (2FA), which adds another layer of protection.

Popular Password Managers

Here are several well-known password managers used by individuals and businesses:

Don’t Tempt Fate

Using the same password everywhere — or using easy-to-guess passwords — makes it much easier for attackers to access your accounts.

Instead:

Use a password manager
Generate long, unique passwords
Turn on two-factor authentication whenever possible

It takes a few minutes to set up — but it can save you hours (or worse) recovering from a hacked account.